Victor Bericoto delivers as Giants clean Guardians 1-0

Victor Bericoto singled off Brayan Rocchio’s glove in the fourth inning to score Rafael Devers, and three pitchers combined for a shutout as the visiting San Francisco Giants beat the Cleveland Guardians 1-0 on Wednesday night.

Devers led off the fourth with a double against Parker Messick (9-8) before scoring on Bericoto’s two-out single that caromed off Rocchio’s mitt as he dove into the hole at shortstop. It was the only hit with runners in scoring position in 11 combined opportunities.

Adrian Houser (4-7) pitched five-plus innings of relief for the win, striking out three. Dylan Smith worked the final two innings for his third save and had five strikeouts, completing the collective six-hitter.

Bericoto, the left fielder, also made the defensive play of the game in the bottom half of the fourth to keep Cleveland off the board. He sprinted to make a diving grab of Angel Genao’s low liner with two on and two outs.

All-Star rookie Messick tied his career high with 10 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings, giving up one run on six hits without a walk. The left-hander hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his eight starts since the start of July.

Giants pitcher Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson started and tossed two innings in his major league debut, allowing one hit against the seven hitters he faced. The lefty didn’t have a strikeout or walk.

The 6-foot-1, 250-pounder, who was drafted by Cleveland in 2023, was traded to the Giants in exchange for starting catcher Patrick Bailey on May 9.

Willy Adames had three hits for San Francisco, while Genao and Angel Martinez singled twice for the Guardians. With the loss, Cleveland fell 1 1/2 games out of the final American League wild-card position.

Guardians outfielders Jo Adell (left kneecap contusion) and Chase DeLauter (mild left hamstring tightness) were unavailable Wednesday, and first baseman Rhys Hoskins (lower back inflammation) was placed on the IL before the game. The club promoted utilityman David Fry from Triple-A Columbus as a result.

–Field Level Media